Mustafa v. Meissner
Mustafa v. Meissner
Opinion of the Court
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER
In this action, the plaintiff, Golam Mustafa, seeks a Writ of Mandamus or, in the alternative, a mandatory injunction compelling the defendants, Doris Meissner, Commissioner of Immigration and Naturalization Service, and the Immigration and Naturalization Service (“INS”), to grant him advance parole so that he can reenter the United States after travel-ling abroad. Advance parole is a procedure by which the INS permits certain aliens who are in the United States in a temporary status to obtain permission for a brief absence from the country. The plaintiff also seeks a declaratory judgment that the defendants have abused their discretion in denying him advance parole.
The plaintiff now moves for summary judgment. The defendants' cross-move to dismiss the complaint or, in the alternative, for summary judgment. For the reasons stated below, the plaintiffs motion is denied, and the defendants’ motion is granted.
I.
The standard for granting summary judgment is well established. Summary judgment may not be granted unless “the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c); see also Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986); Gallo v. Prudential Residential Servs. Ltd. Partnership, 22 F.3d 1219, 1223 (2d Cir. 1994). “The trial court’s task at the summary judgment motion stage of the litigation is carefully limited to discerning whether there are genuine issues of material fact to be tried, not to deciding them. Its duty, in short, is confined at this point to issue-finding; it does not extend to issue-resolution.” Id., 22 F.3d at 1224.
The moving party bears the initial burden of “informing the district court of the basis for its motion” and identifying the matter that “it believes demonstrates[s] the absence
If the moving party meets its burden, the burden shifts to the nonmoving party to come forward with “specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial.” Fed. R.Civ.P. 56(e). With respect to the issues on which summary judgment is sought, if there is any evidence in the record from any source from which a reasonable inference could be drawn in favor of the nonmoving party, summary judgment is improper. See Chambers v. TRM Copy Ctrs. Corp., 43 F.3d 29, 37 (2d Cir. 1994).
II.
There is no genuine issue with respect to the following facts. The plaintiff is a citizen of Bangladesh residing in the United States. The plaintiff has applied for temporary resident status in the United States under § 245A of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (“IRCA”), codified at 8 U.S.C. § 1255a. (Compl. ¶4). Section 1255a established a one time only legislative program that enabled aliens to apply for lawful temporary resident status and, after a one year waiting period, to apply for permanent residency.
On September 2, 1994, the plaintiff sent to the INS an application for advance parole in which he stated that his father, Karam Ali, had died of paralysis on July 15, 1994, and that he wished to leave the United States in order to attend the funeral and post ritual ceremonies in Bangladesh. (Mustafa Aff. ¶¶3, 4). Included in his application packet was an uncertified copy of Karam Ali’s death certificate and a statement from Md. Abdul Mannan that Karam Ali had died and that
III.
As a threshold issue, the government contends that this Court lacks subject matter jurisdiction to review an advance parole determination made by the INS. There is, however, ample authority to support a district court’s review of a denial of advance parole requests. See Adeleke v. McNary, No. 92 Civ. 8440, 1993 WL 17439, at *2 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 21, 1993); see also Khan v. Meissner, No. 94 Civ. 7778, 1995 WL 244401 (S.D.N.Y. Apr. 27, 1995) (addressing merits of claim of unfair denial of advance parole); Cohen v. Smith, 534 F.Supp. 618 (S.D.Tex. 1982) (same); Massoud v. Attorney General, 459 F.Supp. 672 (W.D.Mo. 1978) (same); 6 C. Gordon and S. Mailman, Immigration Law and Procedure, at 151-35 (calling the assertion by the government that a district court lacks jurisdiction to review immigration determinations . “unsupportable” and finding that “it is surprising that the government occasionally resurrects it, despite numerous repulses in the courts”).
The Court has federal question jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1331 because the plaintiffs claim arises under federal law.
IV.
The plaintiff moves for summary judgment on the grounds that the denial of his request for advance parole by the INS was a gross abuse of discretion. He argues that he falls within the class of aliens who may be granted advance parole for “emergent or humanitarian considerations.” See Operations Instructions § 212.5(c)(5). The defendants cross-move for summary judgment on the grounds that the INS acted well within its discretion in denying the plaintiffs application for advance parole.
The standard of review in challenging denial of advance parole is a highly deferential one: “[T]he INS decision ‘must be viewed at the outset as presumptively legitimate and bona fide in the absence of strong proof to the contrary. The burden of proving that discretion was not exercised or was exercised irrationally or in bad faith is a heavy one and rests at all times on the unadmitted alien challenging denial of parole.’ ” Khan, 1995 WL 244401, at *2 (quoting Bertrand v. Sava, 684 F.2d 204, 212-13 (2d Cir. 1982)); see also Adeleke, 1993 WL 17439, at *2-*3 (applying the abuse of discretion standard set forth in the Administrative Procedure Act); Cohen, 534 F.Supp. at 622-24 (same). In addition, in assessing whether the INS’s decision was “arbitrary and capricious,” this court is not limited to the justifications offered at the time of the denial. See Massoud, 459 F.Supp. at 675 (explaining that the rule against “post hoc rationalizations” does not extend to “supplemental articulations” of the reasons behind a decision to deny the plaintiffs request for advance parole):
A review of the record in this case demonstrates that the INS did not abuse its discretion in denying the plaintiffs request for advance parole. Although the INS may grant advance parole to an alien for “emergent or humanitarian considerations” if he demonstrates that “he must make an emergency trip to another country for legitimate personal reasons—for example, that he wishes to attend the funeral of an immediate
It was not an abuse of discretion for the INS to require an applicant to comply with rules regarding deadlines and supporting documentation and to deny the plaintiffs application for advance parole. This was not a case of such emergency where the application of regular procedures could be considered to be an abuse of discretion. Accordingly, the plaintiffs motion for a mandatory injunction is denied, and the defendants’ motion for summary judgment is granted.
CONCLUSION
For the reasons stated above, the defendants’ cross-motion for summary judgment is granted, and the plaintiffs motion for summary judgment is denied. The Clerk is directed to enter judgment dismissing this action and closing the case.
SO ORDERED.
. The plaintiff also alleges that he is a member of the plaintiff class in Immigration and Naturalization Serv. v. League of United Latin Am. Citizens ("LULAC "), which has challenged the INS’s administration of the legalization program under 8 U.S.C. § 1255a. (Pl.’s 3(g) Statement ¶ 2). For a discussion of the LULAC case and advance parole, see Reno v. Catholic Social Servs., Inc., 509 U.S. 43, 113 S.Ct. 2485, 125 L.Ed.2d 38 (1993).
. Because this Court has federal question jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1331, it is unnecessary to reach the plaintiff's arguments that the Court has jurisdiction on other grounds.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Golam MUSTAFA v. Doris MEISSNER, Commissioner of Immigration and Naturalization Service, Immigration and Naturalization Service
- Status
- Published